Fireworks ban shot down at Guilford annual town meeting

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    GUILFORD — All but two articles on the Guilford annual town meeting warrant passed easily Monday night as voters breezed through the budget items, but resisted attempts to regulate fireworks in the community.
    One article that would have banned the “use and possession of consumer fireworks” except on Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve from 10 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. on the following day was defeated 33-11.

    Another more liberal measure that would have permitted fireworks to be ignited on any Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and for a longer period of time on Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve lost by a closer vote, 23-20.
    One question that came up early in the discussion was whether the ordinance would be criticized by state officials who recently designated Guilford as one of Maine’s “Business Friendly” communities. Town Manager Tom Goulette said that in his opinion, it might. Gov. Paul LePage recently vetoed a bill that would have tightened up some existing regulations on the use of fireworks that “I didn’t think was too bad,” Goulette said. “But I don’t think people realize what one person (abusing fireworks) can do to a whole town.”
    Robert Shaffer also said that the provision prohibiting possession of fireworks until the same day they could be legally ignited was “somewhat ludicrous. It’s too strict. I’d ask people to vote down Article 20. And I run a bed-and-breakfast where people don’t want to listen to fireworks.”
    Voters did approve an article that authorizes the board of selectmen to enact fees for building permits. Goulette explained that Guilford was one of the few communities in Maine that still had free building permits; and as a result, there was no incentive to apply for one.
    But with a fee system – recommended at a flat $15 – town officials can track development a lot easier and prevent property owners “from playing hide-and-seek with the tax assessors,” Goulette said. “If you build a garage on the main drag, everybody is going to see it. If you live out where I used to live, you could build four barns and no one would ever know about it.”
    The only other article that prompted a few questions was the measure to allocate $5,000 to the planning board to continue developing the town’s comprehensive plan. Planning Board Chair Matt Holland explained that there are only four people involved in the process “and we have to come up with a lot of information and we have to do it right.”
    The committee turned back $4,200 out of the $5,000 allocated last year, Holland said, but noted that there were going to be some significant expenses in the future such as creating maps of the community. “We’ve been doing some of the maps ourselves,” said Holland. “Professional mapping does look a lot better, but it costs $300 to $800 per map. If we can’t produce them in-house, we have to use a professional service. I don’t want to jeopardize the whole plan because I did something I wasn’t capable of doing.”
    Guilford’s approved $1.55 million budget is about 5 percent higher than last year. The town’s mil rate of $13.65 per $1,000 of assessed value is estimated to go up to $14 once the school budget and county taxes are factored in.
    All incumbent officers including Selectman William Thompson were re-elected without opposition.